Let’s Talk About Round 2

It’s hard to believe that the holidays are already upon us and that we are getting ready to admit Round 1 applicants this week on December 18!

Nevertheless, we know there are lots of Round 2 applicants who are ready to get the ball rolling and hit submit on January 6. In the spirit of Booth’s commitment to inquiry, I’d like to answer some of the most common questions from applicants so far this year.

1) Who should I ask to write my letters of recommendation?
The admissions office asks that you select two recommenders to submit letters for your application. We highly encourage you to select at least one recommendation from your current supervisor and the other is at your discretion. Commonly used second recommenders are past supervisors, clients, or those you may have worked with at volunteer organizations. It is worth noting that we do have a number of applicants who are uncomfortable asking current supervisors for recommendations because they have yet to disclose their future plans. We understand that this can be a difficult situation so we highly encourage you to explain your reasoning behind not choosing your current supervisor.

2) Should I do a presentation or essay?
In this year’s application, we only have one required question for you to answer. You have the freedom to choose how to communicate the answer to us – in essay or presentation format. There is no preferred format for the admissions office as we recognize that everyone wants to tell their own story differently.

3) What does the Round 2 timeline look like?

Applications should be submitted for Round 2 by January 6, 2015 at 5:00 PM CST. Later in January, we will begin releasing interview invitations. Please note that we review applications and release interview invitations in no specific order. All applicants will receive a decision of Invite to Interview or Deny Without Interview by February 4.

Interviews will begin on February 9 and will go through the first week of March. Applicants will have the option to interview on-campus, with a member of our alumni community in your area, or at one of the various cities we visit around the globe for interview days. Final decisions will be released on March 26 at 9:00 AM CST. At that time you will receive a decision of Admit, Deny, or Waitlist.

We know you may have many more questions during this process so please feel free to ask in the comments below. You can also connect with admissions during our twitter chat tomorrow on December 16. Use #BoothMBA to follow the conversation.